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News :: Crime & Police |
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Task force takes public comment on civilian oversight of police |
Current rating: 0 |
by Ricky Baldwin
Email: baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (verified)
Phone: 217-328-3037 |
10 Oct 2005
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The Mayor's Task Force on Citizen Police Review will meet for the first time this Tuesday October 11 at 7pm in the Urbana City Council Chambers. Public comment at the beginning of that meeting is welcome and encouraged. |
(Urbana) On Tuesday, October 11, the Urbana Mayor’s Task Force on Citizen Police Review will meet for the first time at 7:00 pm in the Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S Vine St. High on the agenda is public comment: that’s you.
The task force, approved unanimously by the City Council September 6, is charged with studying the creation of a board of ordinary citizens to investigate allegations of police misconduct and generally oversee the police in Urbana. Its creation follows public outcry over several issues concerning community-police relations in the Champaign-Urbana area in the last few years: the Champaign police department’s bid for tasers, eavesdropping charges filed against two community activists and a string suicides in the local jail.
The Coalition for Citizen Police Review, a Champaign-Urbana based coalition, has advocated for the creation of citizen police review boards in Champaign, Urbana, and other surrounding police departments since early 2000. A number of disturbing incidents of apparent police misconduct at that time had inspired the NAACP and others to begin organizing for a citizen police review board (CPRB).
A CPRB is an impartial body of ordinary citizens, independent of the police department, empowered to receive and investigate citizen complaints against police officers and to perform other oversight functions, including the issuance of periodic reports about complaint resolution and police activities and procedures. At least 100 communities in the US have some form of Citizen Police Review Board.
The task force is due to report its findings to the Urbana City Council in January of 2006. At that time, the Council will make a determination on establishing civilian oversight of its police force.
The task force includes representatives from various Champaign-Urbana organizations including the ACLU, Urban League, and CU Citizens for Peace and Justice as well as the Urbana Assistant Police Chief and a Police Union representative. Two members of the Coalition, Jen Walling and Ricky Baldwin, were appointed to this task force. The Coalition consists of several dozen community and campus groups.
"The Coalition for Citizen Police Review would like to thank the Urbana City Council for taking this important first step towards creating a CPRB in Urbana. This effort shows the Urbana City Council's commitment to social justice and towards improving community-police relations in the city of Urbana," said Jen Walling, Coalition member.
"A vital component of protecting liberty is ensuring public oversight of government police powers," said Esther Patt, Champaign County ACLU member appointed to the Citizen Police Review Task Force.
For more information on the Coalition for Citizen Police Review please see www.prairienet.org/cprb |
See also:
http://www.prairienet.org/cprb
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This work is in the public domain. |
